by Jacqueline on May 16, 2012
Vietnamese Pork Banh Mi
I have just come back from a long weekend in Hanoi where I was able to feast on a few Vietnamese delights. I always go through phases of the type of food I like and at the moment, it is definetly Vietnamese. The fresh, clean flavours with just the right amount of piquancy is what I am currently drawn to.
With it being National Sandwich Week in Britain, I thought there could be no more of a fitting tribute to my favourite food than to make a Vietnamese Pork Bánh Mì. As with all my recipes, this is very easy to make and is a jazzy alternative to the bog standard British sandwich. You will of course not get any points for eating with style once you get your gnashers round this monster of a sandwich 
. Have a try and see what you think.
There is very minimal cooking time with this recipe. The longest element involves marinating the meat so you may want to do this the night before.
This is a fabulous lunch treat. You will feel truly spoiled after wolfing down this baguette!
Ingredients
- 5 pork chops (off the bone), sliced into 1.5 inch wide pieces
- 1 French baguette (for two people) with ends trimmed off.
- 1 small carrot sliced julienne
- 1 small or half a cucumber very finely sliced
- 1 red jalepeno pepper, finely sliced
- 1/4 red onion, half the quantity should be finely chopped, the other half should be sliced
- A handful of coriander (with stems)
-
Dressing
- 3 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon of white sugar
-
For the marinade
- 2 tablespoons of fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons of black pepper
- 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- Red onion finely chopped (as stated above)
Instructions
- Prepare the marinade by mixing together the fish sauce, pepper, vegetable oil, sesame oil, sugar, garlic and chopped onion in a bowl.
- When you are satisfied that the ingredients are sufficiently dissolved, add the pork and marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours (or, overnight).
- For the salad dressing, get a bowl and mix together the rice wine vinegar and the white sugar. Taste to ensure you have the right balance of sweet and sour.
- Bathe the sliced cucumber, carrots and red onion in the salad dressing in batches (i.e. cucumbers first, then carrots, then red onion)
- Heat up the frying pan. Place the pieces of pork in the pan one by one and turn over when you feel that they have been cooked. This should be for about 3 minutes each side. The meat should have a brown carmelised colour.
- Cut your baguette in half and slice through the centre lengthways.
- Assemble the finely sliced cucumbers on the base of the baguette.
- Layer the meaty goodness of the pork on top.
- Sprinkle the julienne carrot on top of the meat.
- Add the sliced red onion sparingly on the carrot.
- Place the red chilli slices on top.
- Garnish with fresh coriander
2.0
http://howtobeagourmand.com/celebrating-sandwich-week-vietnamese-style-with-a-pork-banh-mi/ Unless otherwise stated, text and photographs © 2011 How to be Gourmand. All Rights Reserved. Kindly request permission from the author to copy or reproduce elements of this blog.
A mouthful of Vietnam
What is your favourite sandwich? Are there any unusual combinations out there?
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by Jacqueline on May 10, 2012
Isn’t the blogosphere just full of great people? I woke up yesterday morning to find that I had been nominated for The Versatile Blogger Award by Fabulous Fiona over at London Unattached .Who would have thought that little ‘ole me would have been the recipient of such an accolade?
I’m touched. Thank you Fiona for considering me. I am sending you a big virtual hug.
It is even more flattering to get this award as although I’m not new to blogging, this blog is relatively new. With a break from blogging as we temporarily relocated from London to Hong Kong, it gave me time to redesign my blog, freshen up the content and focus exclusively on the food related posts. For me, these were the most rewarding and they seemed to strike a chord with my foodie chums. It was a natural next step. There are a plethora of food blogs out there and I continue to be inspired by fellow bloggers. I am constantly learning about food trends, exotic ingredients, food photography and of course, social media. I am under no illusion that I need to further develop my blog but for now I am just enjoying the journey.
The Versatile Blogger Award
The rules for the award are:
- Thank the person who nominated you for this award and link back to them.
- Say 5 random facts about you.
- Spread the joy by nominating other bloggers.
- Let the blogger know about the nomination.
Five Random facts about me:
- Since moving to Hong Kong, drinking Champagne, Chablis and Sauvignon Blanc induce the worst headaches. But in Europe I don’t have any headaches. Bizarre! So you can imagine how I spend my time when I am back in the UK
- My guilty food pleasures include Beef Hula Hoops and Cheddar and Onion McCoys crisps. Oh yes it is!
- My work placement when I was at Uni, involved being part of the Opening Crew at Eurodisney. This is where I met my hubbie
- Unlike many foodies, I don’t like the taste of cream, especially when it is a constituent of many cakes and desserts.
- I am a qualified accountant, business analyst, project manager and for my sins I have run projects for a number of multi-national banks. (Yawn!)
My Blogger Nominations are:
- Carroll over at Vanilla Lemonade. Some time ago, Carroll was kind enough to nominate me for a similar award and because I was in the process of relocating and transitioning from my new blog to this one and I didn’t have the time to take part in the nomination. So I’d like to reciprocate the compliment. She is a very talented chef with a fabulous sense of humour who doesn’t take herself too seriously. If you don’t believe me, just check out her About Me/Just Sayin’ Page. It certainly made me chuckle!
- Louise over at MyGorgeousBoys. I met Louise about a year ago when we both attended an event organised by Total Greek Yoghurt. It was a brilliant day and we left having much inspiration from the recipes and demos. Louise’s blog recounts her fun adventures with her two boys and she is as lovely in person as she comes across on her blog.
- Gretchen over at Culinaria Libris. Although Gretchen hails from Nebraska she has settled into London life with great ease. I had the pleasure of meeting Gretchen at Food Blogger Connect last year. Gretchen’s blog focuses on cook book reviews as she frequently and very diligently puts together a synopsis of the latest books to come on the market. If ever I feel like purchasing a new book, I’ll consult her blog first.
- Christine at The Bountiful Plate. Also another Food Blogger Connect chum. Christine is a very gifted cook and food photographer. A quick glance of her posts will leave you salivating uncontrollably. An added bonus, is that Christine has recently relocated from London to Singapore so at least I can tweet with someone in the same time zone
- Finally, Regula at Foodwise. Yet another Food Blogger Connect buddy. Regula is a Belgian Beauty who rocks the Vintage look. As her blog clearly demonstrates, she is extremely creative and champions the British culture more than any British person I know!
What a great way to recognise a blogger’s contribution!
